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RALEIGH, N.C., May 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Hurricane season begins June 1, and experts predict 2008 will be active. Over the last decade, the southern United States has experienced some of the most powerful and destructive hurricanes in history. Progress Energy Carolinas is prepared to handle whatever Mother Nature brings, using lessons learned from these storms and many others from across the region and country.

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Progress Energy has a detailed plan in place to activate employees directly involved with power restoration quickly and decisively in response to major storms. The plan also enables the company to mobilize thousands of other employees who train outside their normal jobs for storm-specific duties in support of restoration efforts. Employees perform a variety of jobs during storms, from arranging staging and logistical details to assessing storm damage, answering customer calls, and, most visibly, repairing damage and restoring power throughout the company's 34,000-square-mile service area. This companywide focus has enabled Progress Energy to reduce outage times and speed restoration significantly over the years.

Progress Energy customers who lose power should call the 24-hour automated outage line at 800-419-6356. This service provides the same information available from customer service associates and is the fastest way to report a power outage. This technology also offers an option to allow customers to receive a call when new information becomes available regarding power restoration.

This state-of-the-art automated system is capable of taking more than 125,000 calls per hour during widespread outages. Law enforcement and emergency agencies ask that customers not call local 911 emergency services to report power outages, unless the outage involves a downed power line that could cause injuries.

Those customers with Internet access may also view Progress Energy's online outage map. This advanced tool displays round-the-clock updates on outages and repairs throughout the utility's service territory. To view the outage map, visit http://www.progress-energy.com/outagemap.

The Carolinas region is no stranger to major storms, and Progress Energy is no stranger to industry honors for storm response, having earned the Emergency Response Award from the Edison Electric Institute a record five times in the program's ten-year history. And for its role in aiding companies and citizens in the Gulf Coast region after the devastating 2005 hurricanes, Progress Energy won the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) Emergency Assistance Award.

The company uses each storm restoration as an opportunity to make improvements in storm restoration, from pre-storm communication and preparation to damage assessments and repairs.

"We know that living in the Carolinas means the threat of major storms, and we drill and prepare throughout the year to provide the best response possible for our 1.4 million customers if and when that response is needed," said Hershell McCarty, system storm coordinator for Progress Energy Carolinas. "Of course, it's also important for our customers to be prepared for storm season, and we encourage customers to make those hurricane plans now."

Progress Energy offers these tips to prepare for a storm:

-- Check supplies and make sure you have the following items: portable
radio with fresh batteries, flashlight, candles or lamps, matches,
first aid kit, a non-cordless landline phone, canned or packaged food
that can be prepared without cooking or refrigeration, several days'
supply of drinking water, a full tank of gas in your car and cash.

-- Put important papers in watertight containers. (Take them with you if
you evacuate.)

-- If you know someone who relies on electric-powered life-support
equipment, be prepared to move that person to a facility outside of the
storm's projected path to avoid the risk of an extended power outage.

-- Call Progress Energy at 800-419-6356 to report a power outage.

For additional storm safety tips, visit the Progress Energy Web site at http://www.progress-energy.com/storm .

Progress Energy, headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., is a Fortune 250 energy company with more than 21,000 megawatts of generation capacity and $9 billion in annual revenues. The company will observe its 100th anniversary in 2008. Progress Energy includes two major utilities that serve 3.1 million customers in the Carolinas and Florida. The company is the 2006 recipient of the Edison Electric Institute's Edison Award, the industry's highest honor, in recognition of its operational excellence. The company also is the first utility to receive the prestigious J.D. Power and Associates Founder's Award for customer service. Progress Energy serves two growing areas of the country. For more information about Progress Energy, visit the company's Web site at http://www.progress-energy.com/.